Back to EveryPatent.com
United States Patent |
5,076,300
|
Mayfield
|
December 31, 1991
|
Dental floss
Abstract
A dental floss in which an inelastic strand is tightly wrapped around an
elastic strand of a certain length and firmly tied at each end of the
elastic strand is provided. To remove matter from interproximal area
between tightly spaced adjacent teeth, only the inelastic strand is used,
while both the inelastic and elastic strands may be used to clean the
interproximal are between widely space apart adjacent teeth.
Inventors:
|
Mayfield; Walter G. (3809 Villa Nova, Houston, TX 77077)
|
Appl. No.:
|
554241 |
Filed:
|
July 17, 1990 |
Current U.S. Class: |
132/321 |
Intern'l Class: |
A61C 015/00 |
Field of Search: |
132/321,329
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
2996872 | Aug., 1961 | Porczynski | 57/140.
|
3247857 | Apr., 1966 | Kanbar | 132/329.
|
3789858 | Feb., 1974 | Pesce | 132/321.
|
4034770 | Jul., 1977 | Trecker | 132/321.
|
4265258 | May., 1981 | Eaton | 132/89.
|
4836226 | Jun., 1989 | Wolak | 132/321.
|
Primary Examiner: Wilson; John J.
Assistant Examiner: Cherichetti; Cindy A.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A dental floss comprising a relatively inelastic strand helically
wrapped around an elastic strand for providing cleaning action between
adjacent teeth.
2. A dental floss comprising a relatively inelastic strand helically
wrapped around an elastic strand, said inelastic strand attached to spaced
apart points on the elastic strand.
3. A dental floss comprising:
(a) An elastic strand of substantially uniform thickness having a first and
second end; and
(b) A substantially inelastic strand helically wrapped around said elastic
strand and connected to the first and second ends to form said dental
floss so that when the first and second strands are pulled between first
and second ends, the elastic strand stretches thereby straightening out
and applying tension to the inelastic strand.
4. The dental floss as claimed in claim 3 wherein said elastic strand is
made from a rubber material.
5. The dental floss as claimed in claim 3 wherein said inelastic strand is
made of nylon and the elastic strand in made from a rubber material.
6. The dental floss of claim 3 wherein said connections to the first and
second ends are made by tying together the inelastic and elastic strands.
7. The dental floss of claim 3 wherein the thickness of the elastic strand
is greater than the inelastic strand.
8. The dental floss of claim 3 wherein the elastic strand has a rectangular
crosssection.
9. The dental floss of claim 3 wherein said connections to the first and
second ends are made by gluing together the inelastic and elastic strands.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a dental floss for use in cleaning unwanted matter
present between adjacent teeth.
2. Description of the Related Art
Dental floss is a well known article used to promote dental hygiene by
removing foreign matter from the interproximal area. Commercially
available dental flosses are in the form of a thin strand made from strong
inelastic materials. Such dental flosses are available in both waxed and
unwaxed forms.
Typically, in use, a segment of the dental floss (strand) is stretched by
both hands and passed between the crowns of adjacent teeth and stroked
laterally by providing back and forth motion to remove the foreign matter
from the interproximal surfaces (medial and distal surfaces) of adjacent
teeth and the interproximal space. Such cleaning action requires a person
to apply tensile force on the dental floss by applying significant
pressure on the fingers, which can be quite discomforting. Additionally,
the interproximal space can vary greatly and since each commercial dental
floss is of nearly constant diameter, the same dental floss becomes
difficult to use throughout the mouth. It is, therefore, desirable to have
a single dental floss which can be used with ease between interproximal
spaces of varying width without putting significant pressure on the hands.
Several other dental flosses have been proposed to provide better cleaning
with greater comfort. As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,858 discloses a
dental floss in which two relatively inelastic strands are spun together.
A thin strong strand is spun together with a relatively weak strand having
spaced apart tufts to provide a relatively inelastic absorbent dental
floss. Such a dental floss has a constant diameter and requires
significant pressure to be put on the fingers during use.
Another type of dental floss is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,258, which
contains a single strand made from multitudinous overlaid fibers of a
yarn. Some of the fibers are joined to each other while the others are
merely caught among other fiber. The finished product is a single strand
soft dental floss which still requires great pressure on the hands during
cleaning action.
The present invention addresses some of the problems associated with the
commonly used dental flosses and provides a two-stranded dental floss
which is easy to use and which can be adapted for use in interproximal
spaces of different widths.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides for a dental floss in which a commonly used strong
inelastic dental floss is tightly wrapped around a length of a highly
elastic strand. The inelastic strand is firmly attached at each end of the
elastic strand. When the dental floss is pulled, the elastic strand easily
stretches, straightening out and applying tension to the inelastic strand
which can be placed in the interproximal space for cleaning matter between
relatively tightly spaced adjacent teeth. Both the inelastic and elastic
strands may be placed in the interproximal space when the adjacent teeth
are widely spaced apart.
Examples of the more important features of the invention thus have been
summarized rather broadly in order that the detailed description thereof
that follows may be better understood, and in order that the contribution
to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional
features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which
will form the subject of the claims appended hereto.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For detailed understanding of the present invention, reference should be
made to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment,
taken together with the accompanying drawing, in which like elements have
been given like numerals and wherein.
FIG. 1 Shows a commonly used single strand dental floss.
FIG. 2 Shows a strand of an elastic material.
FIG. 3 Shows the strands of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 intertwined forming the
finished product of the present invention.
FIG. 4 Shows the use of the dental floss of FIG. 3 when adjacent teeth are
tightly spaced.
FIG. 5 Shows the use of the dental floss of FIG. 3 when adjacent teeth are
widely spaced.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 Shows a length of a commonly used, commercially available,
polyfilamentary dental floss 10, which is relatively inelastic
(distensible) and may be waxed or unwaxed. The diameter of the dental
floss 10 is such that it can be made to pass between the crowns of tightly
spaced adjacent teeth when a certain pressure is applied on it. The
diameter of the dental floss 10 is substantially unaffected when a tensile
(pulling) force is applied to the ends of a segment during use. The dental
floss 10 maybe made from any of the relatively strong inflexible strand
materials that are used in conventional dental flosses, such as,
polyester, nylon or polyamide filaments.
FIG. 2 Shows a segment of an elastic strand 20. Strand 20 may be made from
any highly elastic material, including materials commonly used for rubber
bands. The crosssectional width of the strand 20 can vary, but is
preferably a few order magnitude greater than the diameter of the strand
10 of FIG. 1. The strand 20 may be round, square, rectangular or of any
suitable shape.
The strand 10 is tightly wrapped in a "candy cane or helical fashion"
around the rubber strand 20 and then firmly connected at both ends 30 and
40 of the rubber strand 20 as shown in FIG. 3. The strand 10 may be
rigidly affixed to the ends of the rubber strand 20 by any appropriate
means, such as wrapping the strand 10 at each end of the rubber strand 20
and then fusing them together or by gluing, etc., etc. It has been found
that rigidly affixing the inelastic strand 10 to the elastic strand 20 at
spaced apart points makes the dental floss 25 easier to use; however, the
dental floss 25 may be made in a continuous form without affixing the
inelastic strand 10 to the elastic strand 20 or in a circular form by
joining together the two ends of the inelastic strand.
FIG. 4 Shows floss of this invention when it is used to clean matter
between tightly spaced adjacent teeth 50 and 52. The dental floss is
pulled at ends 30 and 40 or at any two convenient points therebetween,
thereby stretching the rubber strand 20 and straightening out and applying
tension to the inelastic strand 10. The strand 10 is made to fall in the
interproximal space 54.
A back and forth action is applied on the dental floss 25 which imparts
similar motion to the strand 10 for cleaning the matter from the
interproximal surfaces and the interproximal space.
On the other hand, when the interproximal space is large, as shown in FIG.
5, both strands 20 and 10 fall in the interproximal space 54a. A back and
forth action is applied to the dental floss 25 to provide cleaning. The
strand 10, which remains relatively tightly wrapped around the rubber
strand 20 and the abrasive nature of the rubber strand 20 itself provide
the necessary cleaning. Thus, the dental floss 25 of the present invention
functions similar to a thin commonly used dental floss when adjacent teeth
are relatively tightly spaced but without exerting great pulling force on
the hands, and as a thick dental floss when the adjacent teeth are farther
apart, still without exerting great force on the hand as is required by
when conventional dental flosses are used.
While the invention has been described with reference to the preferred
embodiment, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that numerous
modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope and
spirit of the invention. It is intended that the following claims embrace
all such modifications and changes.
Top